Every so often, the world of media is shaken up by some new technology, and the entire industry has to adapt. The NBA often goes along with this, as media is heavily involved with how fans pay attention to news, and more importantly, live games.
When the radio came out, no longer did fans have to wait for the next publication of the paper to see who won the big games. They could listen to color commentary of them live, and be up to date. The television allowed for them to hear and see what was happening. The internet allowed us to break news right away, and stream games.